Tag: Road Trip Blog

ART, Attractions, Cruising, Decorative Arts, DESTINATIONS, International, Museums, Road Trips, TRAVEL

The Hofburg’s Imperial Apartments – A Real Must-See

Jane Sadek
Here's a place you need to see to believe!
Here’s a place you need to see to believe!

TRAVEL THERE: MORE GOLD THAN YOU CAN COMPREHEND

Let me make one thing very clear, if you are in Vienna, don’t miss the Hofburg.  If I had gone there on my very first visit to the city I don’t know if I would have ever gotten to anyplace else in Vienna, ever.  Chances are, if I ever do get back to Vienna, I’ll be making a beeline the Hofburg and the first thing I will do is go visit the Imperial Apartments – again and again and again.

Getting There

The Stephanplatz is a good starting point for all things Vienna.  When you land there you are moments away from the Hofburg.  Enjoy those moments.  Gawk at the goods in the designer stores, people-watch and stop in Dremel for some chocolate.  Spend some time at Michaelplatz, the grand entrance of the Hofburg.  As if to prove this has been always been the center of activity in Vienna, you’ll find an archaeological dig with Roman ruins right outside the entrance to the palace.

Don’t hurry through the Michaelplatz.  Along with the Roman ruins you’ll see spectacular sculptures.  If architecture is your thing, turn around and gaze at the very plain bank building across from the palace.  A persnickety architect, built the building as his home to act as affront to what he considered the very gaudy palace.  Poor Bill!  I was desperate to capture all of this in photographs and he obliged me, but it wasn’t exactly the right day for great pictures.

Entering The Imperial Apartments

After enjoying Michealplatz, enter the palace and turn right.  You’ll be in the vestibule of the Imperial Apartments where you get your ticket to enter.  We had the misfortune of being there when their credit card machine wasn’t working.  Instead of being in a tizzy, trying to find out what was wrong and how to fix it like American cashiers would be, the attendant informed us we’d have to use cash in a very blase manner suggesting she really didn’t care whether we saw the museum or not.  I felt very American at that point.  I wanted her to sympathize with the fact that she’d be depleting almost the entire cache of our euros.  Euros Bill had been loathe to buy and besides that her city was raining on us.  This was all very distressing.  You’ll be glad to know I managed to restrain myself and cough up the necessary euros, but that didn’t mean I was happy about it.

Decorative Arts Heaven

My dismay was short-lived, because I was soon standing in Decorative Arts heaven.  I cannot begin to tell you how amazing and wonderful the Imperial Apartments are.  As I lay dying, with my life passing before me, a good portion of the pictures I’ll see will be from the Imperial Apartments’ Silver Collection.  Hyperbole?  Don’t judge me until you see this!

Calling this orgy of beauty the Imperial Apartments is a bit of a misnomer.  The Silver Collection is actually the first part of three very different attractions which have been rolled into one.  The actual Imperial Apartments are at the end of the line and while quite nice, they are nothing compared to the Silver Collection.

To help you better understand why I am so blown away with the “Silver Collection” you first have to understand silver is just the tip of the iceberg.  There is silver and gold and porcelain and linens and even the boxes they transported all these wonders in.  We’re talking flatware, dishes, epergnes, vases, platters, bowls, tureens, napkins, tablecloths – all in multiples like you would not believe.

I’m someone who will dutifully spend hours stomping through the rest of a huge museum for the privilege of spending time in the one small room most institutions devote to the Decorative Arts.  There are museums which have more Decorative Arts than others, for which I am grateful, but I’ve never been anywhere like this.

I think I’ll just shut up and show you the pictures Bill took for me.  Then maybe next week I’ll tell you about the rest of the Imperial Apartments.

 

Architecture, ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, International, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Self-led Shore Excursion in Vienna

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL THERE: OUR DAY IN VIENNA, AUSTRIA

From the moment we booked our Viking River Cruise, I knew Vienna would be the highlight of the trip for me and a challenge for Bill.  He loves to get on a bus, take in the major sites and be done with it.  If we can get off the boat, see a few things and get some pictures without much hassle, as we could in Budapest, he likes that, too.  Negotiating subways, taking in multiple museums and figuring out someplace to eat is not on his list of must-do’s.  I confess, I was in heaven.

The Viking Shore Excursion in Vienna we are glad we weren't on!
The Viking Shore Excursion in Vienna we are glad we weren’t on!

Been There, Done That 

Vienna is a city I am familiar with.  I know my way around the Ringstrasse.  I’ve been on the underground.  I know the Stephanplatz.  I’ve been to Schönbrunn Palace and the Belvedere.  What I wanted to see was the Hofburg.

Sitting at my desk in Dallas I planned out the perfect day in Vienna.  We would start with a museum in the Hofburg, hang out in gardens and see where the day led us.  I imagined finishing the evening at some romantic sidewalk cafe with shopping bags spread around my feet, each bag holding a perfect gift for a special friend.  Do I have to tell you that it didn’t exactly go this way?

It Rained on My Parade

That moment we found the Hofburg.
That moment we found the Hofburg.

The Viking Tor docked in Vienna around six.  Had this been a girl’s trip with my bestie, we would have been standing in the foyer as they extended the gangplank.  Kudos to Bill however, we were up and out, with breakfast under our belt, by 9ish.  To our dismay it was a gray, chilly day with intermittent rain.  More kudos to Bill, he intrepidly strode along the dock, determined to give me my day in Vienna.

Though I love an adventure, as I’ve confessed before, I have arrival anxiety.  It’s one thing to read up on a destination and a whole ‘nother thing to actually get there and execute the necessary logistics to complete your plan.  If I screw up getting us started, I can ruin the whole day.  Talk about over-planning, just in case I didn’t get the underground details right, I had a map of taxi-stands and bicycle rentals waiting in my backpack.

Fortunately, finding the underground and grabbing our ride was a breeze.  We stepped out of the Stephenplatz station like we knew what we were doing.  The Graben Strasse pedestrian plaza was well marked and we took off in the right direction.  So far so good.  We delighted in the atmosphere and the architecture.  Bill had his camera out and I had my map.  I was looking for Kohlmarkt.

Just about the time I thought, “We should just about be there,” Bill shouted, “WOW, look at that.”  He’d seen the Hofburg at the end of Kohlmarkt.  It was so exciting that tears actually came to my eyes.  Dreams really do come true.  I was a little damper than I’d imagined, but my day in Vienna was going well. 

Come back next week and join us at the Imperial Apartments.

ART, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Hanging Out at DFW

Jane Sadek

TRAVEL HERE: INTERNATIONAL DEPARTURES AT DFW

20160414_143617I’m not exactly a fan of DFW, but if I have to go out there I hope I’m flying out of terminal D.  For one thing, that means I might be going out of the country, which is always good news to me.  For the other, it is by far the best terminal from which to depart.

New and Improved Travelers

There was a time when my husband tried to push the travel envelope to the very edge.  He wanted to find out just how close he could cut it.  It seemed every trip we were the passengers breathlessly running aboard as they closed the door.  Unfortunately, I had been raised by a father who considered earliness to be next to godliness.  That race for the plane thrilled my excitement junkie hubby, but I would go into pure panic mode.

Over the years we’ve both mellowed out.  This is a good thing, since these days, travel is a very different endeavor from what it was twenty years ago.  Anybody pulling a last minute maneuver, like some we did back in the day, would find themselves cooling their heels in some TSA holding space.

Nowadays we get to the airport with hours to spare.  We treat the terminal like a tourist attraction, tasting the local treats and checking out the souvenirs.

A Plug for Park &’N Fly

When we fly, our car is parked at the Park ‘N Fly facility on Park Lane.  We drive in.  A bus pulls up and a nice driver pops out to help us with our bags.  Frequently we are driven directly to our terminal, but even at busy times we get from our car to our gate lickety split.  The nice driver offloads your bags and you’re almost done.

Over the last year, we joined Costco and guess what!  Park ‘N Fly, which is already a bargain at full price, has discounted rates with Costco coupons.  You buy 5 day blocks of tickets for $35 and we’re talking discounted.  The price is so cheap that we saved money with the coupons even though we had to buy and extra day.  The coupon never expires, so we’ll jut hold on to it until the next trip – maybe the one we’ll make to visit our new friends in Oregon we met aboard the Viking Tor.

Our driver for this trip may just be the most charming we’ve ever had.  He was filled with the joy of his salvation and was listening to a sermon on his sound system.  He politely asked if that was OK with us, but we just amen-ed with him and said a few hallelujahs.  He asked where we were headed and when he found out about our cruise on the Danube he really wanted to go along.

Hurry Up and Wait

At the Lufthansa check-in we stared down the kiosk and tried to determine which number or piece of paper it preferred, but we were grateful when someone came to assist us with the check-in, especially since I had already theoretically done that online.  It seems to me that all this digital stuff just makes more work.  Used to be you called up your travel agent to buy your fare, got a hard copy ticket, took it to the desk and were checked in.  Now you dabble online to find a ticket, get a virtual ticket, check-in online, get a virtual boarding pass, fritz with the kiosk at the airport, get pieces of paper and still have to report to a live agent to check-in your bags. Convenience, schamenience!

The line for the TSA security check was not too bad and then we were in, with a couple of hours left to kill.  I had visions of sitting down over a good meal at Cafe Izmir, Cool River Cafe, III Forks or Sky Canyon.  Then I made the mistake of allowing Bill to see the directory of restaurants and ended up at Popeye’s.  You may think I’m kidding, but it’s the truth.  Bill loves Popeye’s and since we’re usually trying to eat healthy we stay away.  With all food being calorie free on vacations (wink wink) he wanted to get some.

20160414_143058Murdering Time

After our chicken we roamed the terminal and looked at all the places we could have eaten and checked out the shops.  Along the way we saw some interesting art installations spread throughout the space.  We really began to feel like tourists.  Many of the most beautiful installations were mosaics on the floor which photograph poorly.  We also found this interesting public interactive.

We decided it was getting close enough to departure time that we should get to our gate.  They’d decided to start boarding early to beat some turbulence, so getting there early had been a good thing.

If you’re coming through Dallas or leaving from our airport, I hope you’ll get to enjoy Terminal D.  If not, you’re stuck with the usual.  Maybe if you’re stuck there long enough on a layover you could take the train over to D and dine in style.

On Wednesdays I’m sharing my Viking River Cruise, the reason we were at the airport in the first place.  Please check back and share the adventure.

 

DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Heading Out to the West Texas Town of El Paso

Jane Sadek
A snippet from my scrapbook
A snippet from my scrapbook

TRAVEL BUG TALES: OUR FIRST REAL VACATION

As promised, it’s time to get back to our family trip to El Paso and New Mexico.  The year was 1967 and we’d recently moved back to Texas.  I call it our first real vacation, because the only vacation our family took before then was coming to Texas from wherever my dad’s job had him stationed at the time.

Going Batty

Our primary destination for this family vacation was Carlsbad Cavern.  We planned on taking the tour into the caverns, but Mom was insistent that we must first experience the flight of the cavern’s bats on the evening before.  Somehow El Paso and White Sands National Park worked themselves into the mix.

I’m sure the inclusion of El Paso had something to do with I-20.  This was back in the days before the Middle East Oil Crisis (the first one, not the recent one), so you could legally drive 80 miles an hour on I-20 in West Texas.  In reality you could drive as fast as your car would go.

I can tell you this.  If the speed limit was 80, you can rest assured my dad stayed two or three clicks below, so he could be sure he wasn’t breaking the law.  George was a stickler for that sort of thing.  Mom was a little more interested in making good time and there were usually “discussions” about Dad’s slow poke methodology.

Getting an Early Start

My dad was a Canteen Officer for Veterans Administration Hospitals, which meant he got up early on workdays to oversee the preparation of breakfast in the cafeteria.  Since Dad woke at 4:45 every weekday morning, he didn’t see any harm in waking the rest of us at 4:45 on the first day of vacation.

For many years, Mom would wake us up at the start of a vacation and give us a good breakfast – make that a very heavy breakfast with eggs, bacon, toast and who knows what else.  On any other day of the year a bowl of cereal, hot or cold, was considered a perfectly good breakfast, but for some reason, when we left on vacation, I was supposed to want the full monty.

The only problem was that once we got on the road, I would yell out, “Mom, my throat hurts!”  This was family code for, “I’m car sick and am about to throw up.”  Dad would pull over to the side of the road where I’d wrench open the door and deposit all of that good breakfast into the gravel, only it didn’t look quite as good by then.  Within a few miles I’d be hungry again and would stay that way for the rest of the morning until my parents decided it was time for lunch.

Eventually, I permanently associated that “good breakfast” my father was so fond of with motion sickness.  To this day I will not eat scrambled eggs or omelettes under any circumstance.  Only during the last few years have I reluctantly succumbed to my husband’s desire to share a meal of eggs from time to time.  He loves the things and whips up a late breakfast for us occasionally.  I explained over and over why I didn’t eat eggs, but my husband doesn’t really know how to take no for an answer.  So he fries up an egg to the point where the yolk will not run under any circumstances and the whole thing could be bounced on the floor.   Then I will eat the egg, but I don’t want to get in the car for awhile.

By the time we went on this particular trip, I was 12 years old and was no longer subjected to having the “good breakfast.”  I was able to toast up the blueberry Pop-Tart I usually had for breakfast.  I didn’t like icing, but I would toast it with a pat of butter – a feat possible only because we used a Vintage Munsey Toaster rather than toasters which would actually pop-up the Pop Tart.

Our family had adopted another travel modification to avoid my “sore throat.”  Though our 1966 baby blue Pontiac Catalina had seat belts, I was not required to wear them when I was feeling iffy.  Instead I was allowed to sit on the edge of the backseat and hang my elbows over into the front.  From this privileged position between my parents I could see out the windshield and the family avoided any unpleasantness.  I learned I could pretty much sit like that whenever I desired, because no one wanted to take any chances.

Next week I’ll tell you how I failed my first assignment of responsibility as a traveler.  I hope you’ll join me then.

Accommodations, Attractions, Cruising, DESTINATIONS, International, TRAVEL

Waltzing Along the Danube with Viking River Cruises

Jane Sadek

20160419_115712

TRAVEL THERE: OUR VIKING RIVER CRUISE, WONDERFUL IN EVERY WAY

On Monday I had a little fun with you about the joys of coming home from a vacation, but the truth of the matter is that I thoroughly enjoyed our Viking River Cruise.  I can’t think of a single reason why you wouldn’t want to call your travel agent this minute and book one of their marvelous experiences.  My frustration with the size of the room could have been resolved by one of the Viking suites if money were no object, but money is always an object.

River Cruising vs. Ocean Cruising

This was our sixth cruise and our second on a river.  We definitely prefer river cruising, but you might not.  If you like the casino, shopping arcade, pools, kid’s activities, theaters, gyms and spas, then you should stick to ocean liners.  If you think you’d like remarkable access to amazing destinations, individualized service and a relaxing atmosphere, then I might have just the thing for you.

We loved being two of the only 190 guests on the Viking Tor.  Everything (and I do mean everything we wanted) was included in the price of the cruise.  The boat was full of cozy little places to relax and enjoy our time on board, instead of the craft being stuffed cheek to jowl with attractions designed to separate us from a little more of our money.  We returned to the same dining room for every meal where our waiters quickly learned our preferences  and we made friends around the table, instead of being shuffled from dining room to dining room with a new waiter every night, never seeing the same passengers twice.  We sat on the Sun Deck with plenty of elbow room and a pair of riverbanks to watch, instead of suffering the frenetic pool scene of an ocean liner.  Best of all, there were no roving photographers trying to get us to pose for yet another picture every time we turned around.

More River vs. Ocean Trade-offs

I’ll admit we’ve enjoyed some great entertainment on ocean liners.  There are no Broadway spectacles aboard a Viking Longship, but they still managed to provide satisfying entertainment.  I wouldn’t have minded a gym, for morning workouts, but with walking tours at almost every stop, I usually managed to meet my step goal for the day.

And speaking of walking tours, I adored the shore excursions on Viking.  I’m not a big fan of getting drunk on a pirate boat or a private island.  I don’t snorkel, scuba dive or participate in other water sports.  While I enjoy shopping excursions, my husband is not really happy with the dings on his credit card bill.  There’s usually one day on an ocean cruise where I really enjoy an excursion, like the Road to Hana in Maui or Dzibilchaltun on the Yucatan peninsula, but on the other days, I would gladly trade my experience in on a good museum.

Aboard the Viking Tor, we woke almost every morning to discover we were docked at yet another wonderful destination.  After breakfast we joined a knowledgeable guide, usually for a walking tour, but in the bigger cities, a bus tour.  Even with the bus tours we’d get out of the bus and wander around various sites.  The guides were knowledgeable, personable and delightful.  The focus of the tours was to teach us something about the destinations and familiarize us with the lives of its inhabitants, now and in the past.  Drinks were not served and we weren’t abandoned at shopping opportunities with no hope of exit without a purchase.  Instead we drank in the beauty and chewed on the history.  If we were interested in shopping, there was plenty of free time.

And There’s More!

I’ve only begun to rave.  Come back next week and I’ll cover some more of the generalities of the cruise, like who our fellow passengers were and what the food was like, so you can get an even better idea of whether you are a river cruiser or an ocean cruiser.

Cruising, DESTINATIONS, DFW Metroplex, Road Trips, TRAVEL

Cruise Report: The Return

Jane Sadek
OK, so I am an addict!
OK, so I am an addict!

TRAVEL HERE: NO MATTER HOW HUMBLE, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Most folks who travel will tell you one of the best parts of the trip is coming home.  I have to agree with them.  I loved my recent cruise on the Danube, but sleeping in my own bed has its advantages.

What Did I Miss Most?

What I always miss most during my travels is Diet Dr Pepper.  No airport in the world has my beverage of choice.  A few airlines will offer it, but very few and certainly not Lufthansa or United.  Soda machines outside Texas rarely have it and locating a six pack of it at my American destinations can be somewhat of a challenge.  Finding any Dr Pepper product along the Danube was not going to happen, so once a day I would settle for a Coke Light to get my daily dose of caffeine.  Coke Light is the European answer to our Diet Coke.  Coke Zero?  Forget about it!

Other Things I Lacked

I missed my bed and most particularly my top sheet.  The mattress, though smaller than the one we sleep on at home, was perfectly comfortable.  The contour sheet, pillow and pillow cases were all very well and good, but the only cover we got was a comforter.  It was a very nice comforter, but I really missed having a top sheet.

Another thing wrong with the bed was that it was attached to the boat and at 3 AM in the morning, when the captain put the pedal to the medal, everything on the boat would vibrate.  When I was a kid I thought it was cool to put a quarter in the hotel bed and enjoy the vibrations, but I giggled all the way through the “massage.”  On the boat I would come awake wondering what was happening and then figure out that I’d been wakened by the boat’s vibrations – again.  Of course, then I’d toss and turn.  I was too hot with the comforter on and felt weird without a top sheet, so I’d usually stay awake until it was finally time to get out of bed – not by choice, of course.

When I did get up, I immediately regretted the tiny bathroom in our cabin.  While the length of the shower was more than sufficient, for my money, I’d have preferred a little more elbow room in the other direction.  I’m not a fan of showers, so I stood as close to the showerhead as I could, to get the most of me wet or I’d get a chill.  Hence, I was stuffed into the front of the shower stall banging into the walls and doors – a far cry from my large soaking tub at home.  Sitting on the toilet was particularly claustrophobic, but there was enough room for the brushing of teeth.

I moved the rest of my ministrations into the main room, taking over what I think was supposed to be a desk, but it made for a great vanity table – with the exception of the light.  To turn on the light above the mirror, I would have had to turn on all the lights in the room.  Not a good idea with Bill enjoying his final moments of sleep.  (He had no problem with the vibrations, for which I was glad, but a little envious.)  So, I would crack open the curtain of the sliding glass door which was right next to me – the benefit being that I put on my make up with natural light.

All Is Forgiven

In truth, I know these are minor irritations.  While I struggled with the bed and bath, I was not cooking meals or washing dishes.  A maid showed up to make up the bed and restock the linens.  I didn’t fight the crowds at the grocery store or worry about traffic.  In fact, I didn’t worry about anything.  I didn’t know or care who was ahead in the election process or if anyone had been blown up.  Even if I was missing my Diet Dr Pepper, having a bottomless glass of wine at dinner certainly made up for it.

20160422_213554
Sorry, you have to imagine the frog voices.

As much as I love traveling there was one very priceless moment as I arrived at our home.  The night was pitch black except for a brilliant full moon.  I couldn’t wait to get out and take a picture. As soon as I opened the car door I could hear our frogs.  They were all singing their welcome.  I’ve identified three types of voices, the basso bullfrogs, frogs with a clicking sort of song and the sopranos screaming at the top of their voices.  Thankfully the sopranos only sing a few nights out of the year, but they were out in full force when we arrived.

The picture didn’t come out very well, but I’ve shared it anyway.  In the coming weeks I will share all the wonderful things we did on our cruise and all the amazing things the crew did to make it a memorable experience.

So, I’ll be changing things around here on the blog again.  Mondays will remain Travel Here stories about things to do in the Metroplex.  Wednesdays will return to Travel There stories where I’ll tell you all about the cruise.  Travel Bug Tales, which were started as a sort of filler, have become very popular, so they’ll replace At Home in Heath on Fridays and if I have Rockwall County things to share with you, I’ll include them on Mondays.  So I hope you’ll join me Wednesday for my first installment on the cruise.

ART, Attractions, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Keeper of the Plains in Wichita KS

Jane Sadek

20150911_202420TRAVEL THERE: THE RING OF FIRE CEREMONY FOR THE KEEPER OF THE PLAINS

I’d just like to complain a little bit.  This particular attraction was the sum total of things available to me in Wichita KS.  It’s not that they don’t have museums and gardens.  It’s that the museums and gardens were all against me.  They closed about the time I got there Friday.  They opened back up when I went into the Ministry Event, but closed when I got out.  Then they waited until I left town to open up again.   Thank you Keeper of the Plains for lighting your firepots for me.20150911_202635

Dramatic Positioning

Our waitress at Taste and See gave us great directions to the site of the Keeper of the Plains.  We found parking and saw the pedestrian bridge before we could see the Keeper.  Once the Keeper came into sight, it was clear he’s in a very dramatic position.  He stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers and looks down towards the modern city.

The Keeper himself is a work of modern art, but he makes me think of the popular Kokopelli figure.  While Kokopelli is hunched forward, the Keeper stands erect with his face lifted to the Great Spirit.

As we approached the pedestrian bridge, with its bow and arrow motif, the arch of the bridge framed the Keeper.  Each perspective seems to add to the mystery of the great figure atop a stone outcropping.

20150911_202858Once across the bridge, we entered an open-air interpretive center explaining the spiritual significance of the Keeper to Native Americans.  From this position you are below the stone out-cropping, looking up at the Keeper.  Soft tribal music fills the air in the interpretive area making it feel like a sacred place.

There are paths below the outcropping that allow you to walk all the way around the statue.  The area is dark, so it was quite popular with couples.  Deb and I were a little out of place.

Having seen the statue up close, we decided to wander back across the bridge and enjoy the Ring of Fire ceremony from afar.

I Anticipated the Wrong Ring 

Across the river along the esplanade was several tiers of seating and a different type of tribal music was playing, “Happy” by Pharrell Williams.  Deb and I climbed to one of the upper tiers and watched a couple of little boys dance to the trippy little tune.  As we enjoyed the boys I tried out the panoramic feature on my phone I had discovered at Myriad Botanical Gardens.  The light wasn’t right, but I will share the results anyway.

20150911_205047

Finally the moment came and flames erupted in the firepots at the Keeper’s feet, but that wasn’t what I was expecting.  I wanted fire to blaze between the hands of the Keeper.  Careful reading of the information I found revealed  they’d had all the prepositions right, I’d just decided I didn’t want it that way, so I ignored them.  My purposeful ignorance did not change a thing.  The magic light did not appear for me.

20150911_210022I grabbed a final shot for you and we went back to the car.  This was Friday night.  We spent Saturday in the arena and enjoyed the seafood buffet at the hotel that evening.  The next morning we headed home.  We experienced the worst service I’d ever had at a McDonald’s somewhere along the way in Oklahoma.  Then we were home.

I took this trip in mid-September.  When I got home there were still several articles about the San Antonio Stroll on my blog waiting for posting.  I went ahead and wrote all the items on the Wichita trip as soon as I got home, knowing the series would not start until late October, but not wanting to miss the details.  You are reading this in the new year, but I am writing them on a beautiful September afternoon in Dallas.   I wonder what will be going on in the New Year of 2016.

 

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Legends at DoubleTree Wichita KS

Jane Sadek
Your Breakfast Buffet
Your Breakfast Buffet

TRAVEL THERE: LEGENDS RESTAURANT AT DOUBLETREE BY HILTON IN WICHITA KS SERVES TASTY AND CONVENIENT FOOD

When you stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Wichita KS, you’re out at the airport and away from everything else.  The hotel is lovely and once inside you can forget you’re even at an airport.  At mealtime Legends Restaurant & Bar, in the lobby of the Hilton is a safe bet for a good meal.

Breakfast As You Like It

The Executive Level of this hotel is a sweet deal during the week, because you have a breakfast buffet and an evening social hour right there on your floor.  If you are up on the Executive Level on the weekend, breakfast is still a sweet deal, because it’s comped.  Everybody else has to either pay $12.95 for the breakfast buffet or order a la carte.  Since it was comped, we opted for the breakfast buffet.

The breakfast buffet has pretty much anything your heart desires.  There’s all the cereals, fruit, yogurt, pastries and such.  There’s a do-it-yourself waffle maker with all the trimmings.  They also have omelettes, Eggs Benedict,  breakfast potatoes, sausage and bacon.  You know, the usual.  Well, maybe not so usual.  Eggs Benedict are kind of a treat.

On Saturday, I tried the Eggs Benedict.  Everything about them was fine, except for the fact that I’m funny about eggs.  I don’t like scrambled eggs or omelettes, and any other egg should be well done.  Well, a properly cooked Eggs Benedict should be over easy, but I’m not fond of the runny yellow goo.  The sauce was good, the muffin fine and I ate my egg white.  I left a lot of yellow goo behind.

The next day was Sunday and after 10 there is a Champagne Brunch with an elevated price tag.  They had an extra buffet table all ready to fill up with additional goodies, but we got there before 10 so we could get on the road and to avoid having to pay extra.  On that morning I went for some cereal and a biscuit.  OMG, that biscuit was good.  There can be some pretty sorry excuses for biscuits on a buffet, but these were amazing.  I only ate one and since I’m not fond of gravy had no problem avoiding it, but I really, really wanted another biscuit.

Saturday Night Seafood Buffet

After breakfast on Saturday morning, I noticed on the way out of the restaurant that they had a $34.95 Seafood Buffet in the evening.  That sounded pretty darned good to me.  We’d be at the Living Proof Event all day long and I just bet we’d love to come back to the hotel and veg.  I was right.  What I didn’t know was everyone else in the general vicinity was also going to realize this was a good deal.  I’m guessing that most of the people we saw hanging off the rafters in the restaurant lived in Wichita and came out on a regular basis.  They all seemed to have the drill down pat.

There really was all the seafood you could eat.  From broiled cod to shrimp cocktail and mussels to crablegs, you could eat yourself into a stupor.  I love crab legs and they were sweet enough that they didn’t need butter as far as I’m concerned.

Oh and dessert.  There was a chocolate pie good enough for someone’s mother to claim.  It had a denser meringue than my own mother made, but the chocolate and the crust tasted just like home.  There were other delicious looking choices, like a chocolate cake, but that wasn’t as amazing as the pie.  After dinner we were glad to waddle back to our room and call it a night.

The New Year is upon us.  I hope itis going to be a good year for you and yours.  Party hardy, but get home safe.  And come back in 2016 for a little Wichita KS sightseeing.

 

Accommodations, DESTINATIONS, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

The DoubleTree, Wichita KS

Jane Sadek
It's all about the cookir!
It’s all about the cookie!

TRAVEL THERE: THE DOUBLETREE BY HILTON AT THE WICHITA AIRPORT

If you ever go to a Beth Moore Living Proof Event, book your hotel early.  I assumed we’d stay in downtown Wichita, close to the Intrust Bank Arena where the event was being held.  I even sat down to make my reservations a month in advance. We had a lovely stay at the Wichita DoubleTree, but it wasn’t our first choice.

Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk

OK, so fine.  Our first choices for accommodations in Wichita weren’t available – at least not at the convention pricing – so we couldn’t stay there.  Next?

Hilton’s Doubletree Hotels are lovely places.  After I booked our bargain room they emailed me and told me I qualified for a standby upgrade.  It would cost $15 a day, but I would be on the Executive Level.  The Executive Level offers amenities like free breakfast and daily hors d’oeuvres in the evening, but those breakfasts and hors d’oeuvres weren’t available on the weekend.  I wasn’t sure whether it was worth it or not, but I took it anyway.  I’d leave it to chance.  If there were no upgrades available when we got there, I would be perfectly happy with a regular room.  If the upgrade was available, then we’d see if it was worth it for the next opportunity.  When we got there we got the upgrade and it was worth it.

Check-in and Unloading

Checking-in was not as easy breezy as it had been in OKC.  Apparently whoever had our room during the week had gotten a late check-out and the registration desk wasn’t sure whether or not the maids had gotten to it.  Still, the Doubletree always greets you with a seriously amazing cookie, so you can’t get too upset by anything as you enter chocolate chip nirvana.

Should you ever stay here, please note that their complimentary shuttle will deliver you to locations within the airport, but otherwise, you better have a car.  The registration desk couldn’t answer that question, so we found the bellman.  He said he could take us to the airports taxi stand where we could get a $30 round-tip taxi.  No thank you.  I was trying to avoid parking fees, so a $15 taxi wasn’t the answer, since it also came with other hassles.

So we headed to the room.  I’m sure the nice bellman would have been happy to see to our luggage, but we’re independent sorts.  We pulled around to entrance closest to our room and gathered up our bags.  Deb led the way into the building, pulling her bag behind her.  There was a pair of exterior doors and a pair of interior doors.  I negotiated the exterior doors with no trouble, but as I held them open to wheel in my bag, I backed into the vestibule and fell into Deborah’s luggage.  We found this very amusing, but a pair of maids who stood nearby looked as if they suspected we were drunk.  Then Deb asked them where the elevator was.  They pointed to our right.  We were standing right next to it, which we also thought was hilarious.  The pair of maids were then firmly convinced we were bonkers.

Up on the Executive Level

The Executive Level requires your room key to let you in.  No riff raff allowed.  There’s all kinds of amenities up there for the business traveler.  A computer with wifi, a printer, comfy chairs and a TV.  There’s a coffee bar and buffet, as well as tables for eating.  It’s all tastefully decorated in rich woods and dark upholstery.

When we got there a couple was hogging the area in front of the TV with an attitude that suggested they belonged there and we didn’t, so we didn’t try to make friends.  I’m thinking they were booted out of their room, had a late flight and needed a place to hang out.

You’ll need your room card again to get into your room.  And it’s just a room.  More luxurious and spacious than the space in OKC, but no door separating the sleeping area, so we gave a little and got a little.  The room was beautifully appointed and quite chic, but it was still just a hotel room.  Nothing about it to get very excited about.  We did have comfy robes and house shoes to use and there was a safe, but the bottles of water were strictly for Hilton Honors members.

What made the upgrade to the Executive Level worthwhile, in spite of the absence of breakfast and social hour, was that in lieu of these amenities the hotel comped our breakfasts down in the hotel’s restaurant.  The breakfast buffet was $12.95 each, so were were about one breakfast ahead each day.  We also had dinner there on Saturday night, not comped, but I’ll tell you about Legends Restaurant next week.

DESTINATIONS, Restaurants & Bars, Road Trips, TRAVEL, United States

Jason Febres’ Taste and See In Wichita KS

Jane Sadek
Taste and See: Global Fusion
Taste and See: Global Fusion

TRAVEL THERE:  A VISIT TO OLD TOWN IN WICHITA KS WITH DINNER AT JASON FEBRES’ TASTE AND SEE:GLOBAL CUISINE

The drive from OKC to Wichita has to be one of the most boring in the world.  About the only excitement we had was gathering up change for the toll road.  Things got more fun in Wichita.  We found Old Town and then ate at a restaurant owned by a famous TV Chef, Taste and See.

Rolling Into Town

The first thing we had to do when we got to Wichita was find our hotel.  Then we had to figure out how to get to the Intrust Bank Arena at 9 AM the next morning.  I was hoping the hotel would be taking a vanload or two, but no such luck.  We chatted with the bellman, but didn’t like any of his suggestions.  It looked as if I’d have to drive down there and park.  So as soon as we dumped our stuff in the room, we went back out.

Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita is not the American Airlines Center in Dallas, but I was paranoid about it all. (Am I the only one who hates having arenas named after businesses?)  I didn’t want to be stuck outside trying to park while Beth Moore was inside the arena blessing the socks off everyone.  I programmed Nancy the Navigator to find the arena and headed downtown.  Deb tried to help Nancy and kept urging me to go ahead and turn left, but for once I ignored her.  Come to find out, Deb had been trying to get me to the Convention Center rather than the Intrust Bank Arena.  Nancy had it right.

I drove around a little more to convince myself that parking was not going to be an issue.  Then we decided to explore Wichita a little bit.  This time we turned Nancy off and I followed Deb’s instructions.  She found a gas station and then got me to a parking lot in Old Town.

Discovering Old Town

Like Bricktown in OKC, Old Town in Wichita is an entertainment area.  While much of Bricktown is new, most of Old Town is old.  The first place we happened upon was Mort’s, which is a happening sort of a place, but it’s also a cigar-smoking place and my eyes wanted no part of that.

Deb in Taste and See
Deb in Taste and See

So we followed the map around to an area with several restaurants and landed at Taste and See: Global Fusion.  Confession:  We had no idea we had arrived at THE hot foodie spot of Wichita.  For that matter, we had no idea Wichita was supposed to be a foodie destination.  We just got lucky.

Taste and See

The hot foodie spot was not much into decor.  Bare tables, concrete floors – a sort of diner vibe.  At the back of the restaurant was an open kitchen with a lot of chefs.  I’ve heard of too many chefs in the kitchen, but watching these guys seemed like a demonstration of just that phenomena.

Deb was in the mood for a steak and I just wanted to nibble a little bit, but first we wanted drinks.  I chose Sangria.  Deb ordered a glass of wine, but the waitress didn’t like her choice.  After a bit of tasting Deb decided the waitress was right about the pinot being sub-par.  I think she ended up with a merlot.  My sangria was great.

Then there was the ordering.  The tasting menu sounded amazing, but it was $35 and to get the paired drinks was another $45.  I’m into a little splurging, but that was beyond my keen.  So instead  I picked out a couple of tapas.  Deb chose a steak and she ordered it rare.  The waitress took her order, but then a chef came and discussed the wisdom of rare and suggested medium rare.

The Famous Chef we didn't know
The Famous Chef we didn’t know

The conference was a success and Deb loved her steak.  I loved one of my tapas, the Cornucopia, but the Pizzettes had too much dough – as in the toppings were just about right, but sat in the middle of too much bread.

All the while we kept our eyes opened for Jason Febres, the famous chef we knew nothing about.  Lo and behold, he showed up, but after chatting up a few other tables he landed at a large group about two tables away.  He stayed there for the rest of the time we were there, so I never got the chance to help him out with his Pizzettes.

Of course we had dessert.  It was some Oreo Cookie thing, which was delicious, but didn’t begin to compete with the not-so-trendy Lava Cake we’d tackled in OKC.

Time to Call It a Night

I’m glad we happened upon the ultimate Wichita foodie experience, but I have to confess that it was not my favorite meal of the trip.  In fact, if we were handing out foodie awards, we’d have to give it to OKC, not Wichita.

We took another route back to our car.  For a Friday night the area was actually pretty tame.  Mort’s was rocking, but we could smell the cigar smoke long before we heard the live band on the patio, so I’m not sorry we missed that hot spot.  Nancy the Navigator took us back to the Doubletree and we tucked ourselves in for the night.

Here’s a few more pictures from our foodie experience.  Come back next week and I’ll tell you about the hotel.